Victim in Sierra County shooting had ongoing dispute with alleged shooter, court records state

Fight erupted in roadway, court documents show

LAS CRUCES &GT;&GT; A Sierra County man was shot and killed this weekend south of Truth or Consequences, after what witnesses described as a confrontation in the middle of a roadway.

Longtime Sierra County resident Jeff Martin, believed to be in his mid- to late 30s, died Saturday after a fatal shooting in Las Palomas Canyon, west of Interstate 25 and south of Truth or Consequences.

Charged in connection with the shooting are Frank Chavez, 54, and his wife, Deann Chavez, 49, both of Williamsburg. Each were charged with murder or aiding with murder, first-degree felonies, and tampering with evidence, third-degree felonies, according to court documents. They're jailed in a Sierra County detention facility.

A witness who was a friend and business associate of Martin and his father, Walt Martin, told investigators that Frank Chavez had an ongoing dispute with the Martins that stretched back into the early '90s, court records state. The feud in recent months had involved several instances in which Frank Chavez would "pull up and roll down his window and cuss at Walt and Jeff," the documents allege.

At the scene

Multiple witnesses reported seeing Frank Chavez, owner of ACE Electric and Construction, in or near a tractor that was parked on the north shoulder of Las Palomas Canyon Road. Several also saw Jeff Martin, owner of Rainmaker Well Drilling Services, in a backhoe that was on the south side of the same road prior to the shooting.

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Frank Chavez, who lives a few miles west of the where the shooting happened, told investigators he'd gone with his wife around 10:30 a.m. that morning to pick up his tractor from a farm where he'd cut hay earlier in the week, court documents state. He said he was driving the Case 1050 tractor home, and his wife was following in their maroon Dodge truck, when he pulled off the side of the road.

Frank Chavez claimed he stopped to check on a neighbor, when he saw Jeff Martin across the road in the backhoe.

Frank Chavez told authorities he and Martin traded insults before he drove away and went to his home.

One witness reported driving by Martin and someone he thought "may have been" Frank Chavez, who were "yelling at each other" from the cabs of their respective vehicles. The witness said that after driving by, he watched in his rearview mirror as Frank Chavez jumped down from the tractor, walking "in an aggressive manner" to the center of the road. Martin did the same, and the witness thought the two were going to get into a fist fight. They appeared to argue for about two minutes and then walked back to their machinery, according to court documents.

People who drove by before the shooting saw Deann Chavez in the couple's maroon truck with a trailer in tow, according to court documents. She was parked ahead of Frank Chavez and his tractor in the westbound lane of the road.

A resident whose home was adjacent to the scene of the shooting told police he heard two gunshots in quick succession, according to court records. He looked out his window and saw a red tractor, the driver of which appeared to be Frank Chavez, and a pickup truck that looked like an ACE Electric vehicle. The witness reported seeing the truck and tractor then leave, traveling west on Las Palomas Canyon Road. The witness also saw a man "laying on the ground adjacent to a backhoe."

Authorities found a blood trail from the middle of the road to Jeff Martin near the backhoe, according to court documents.

At 11:06 a.m., another Las Palomas Canyon resident was driving east on the road and saw the man, who turned out to be Martin, on the ground near the backhoe, court records state. That witness said Martin appeared to be dead.

EMS personnel got to the scene shortly after to find "significant amounts of blood" pooling near Martin's head and that he was already dead, according to court documents.

A volunteer firefighter who lives west of the scene saw the Chavezes' maroon truck "traveling westward at a high rate on Las Palomas Road at an extremely high rate of speed" a few minutes before hearing a radio call for help for the man found on the side of the road, according to documents.

Sadness sparked

The shooting death sparked a flurry of activity on social media over the weekend, as residents in the tight-knit rural community lamented the loss of a loved one or friend. But some, in Frank Chavez's defense, said they wanted all sides of the story to be heard.

Some said he was a graduate of Hot Springs High School.

Amy Griffin Whitehead of Truth or Consequences said she was a friend of Jeff Martin's, described him as a "great person."

He was "loving, honest, funny and hard working," she said via Facebook. "He was always truthful and didn't hold anything back — very loyal to his family and friends and would give the shirt off his back."

Las Crucen Larry Castañeda, worship leader at Mesilla Park Community Church, said he attended middle school and high school with Jeff Martin. Castañeda, who graduated from Hot Springs High School in the class of '93, said Martin graduated a couple of years later.

Castañeda said the town is the kind where "everybody knows everybody," and Martin was known for his friendliness and characteristic smile.

"He was the kind of guy that everybody likes to know," he said. "He was very soft-hearted, very kind. He had the greatest smile and could brighten up any situation."

Castañeda said he realizes "people are having mixed emotions" about the shooting, but regardless of the circumstances, "it should never come to that."

"To take somebody's life like that, it's uncalled for," he said.

Hearings forthcoming

Next for the Chavezes is an arraignment before a Sierra County magistrate judge, likely to happen this week, said Mercedes Murphy, deputy district attorney for the 7th Judicial District.

Then, a second hearing in magistrate court will allow a judge to determine if there's probable cause for the charges. If there is, the case would enter state district court.